Blood and Earth
by theorangetree
Summary: Damon picks up a woman who is not all she seems. But the more time she spends around Damon the more her dark past resurfaces- with dangerous recriminations for everyone (set during 1st season). (My first TVD fic, and it's a slow starter so bear with me. I'm a TVD noob, not even finished 1st season!)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

DAMON Salvatore turned up the collar of his black leather jacket. Tonight he was feeling extraordinarily confident and very much like he wasn't going home alone. The club was heaving and the thick, hedonistic atmosphere suited his mood. Although he had already smiled at several women there was nothing stand-out in this club; nothing to tempt him. But he was still feeling good and enjoying the heady sensation prickling through his undead body.

Damon was a vampire; a blood-drinking; soulless creature who fed on humans and selfish desires. His aims for this evening were to 1) have hot sex; 2) feast on a hot girl and 3) preferably feast on the hot girl after sex. But he wasn't too fussy, there were always plenty to choose from if he wasn't being too picky. Besides, he was sexy. Dark hair, sparkling eyes, defined cheekbones to die for… he knew he had it and this made him even more unscrupulous.

Damon made his way across the club to the bar, eyeing up prospective lovers/meals as he went. Then he saw her straight ahead, dancing and twirling around in the most unbelievably sexy way. She had white blond hair styled long and slightly tousled. She had the most amazing, lithe frame which curved and gyrated in the all the right places. And then there were her eyes: the most enticing and sparkling shade of blue he'd ever seen. She looked focused and so alive in the moment- Damon had to have her immediately.

So he made his way directly to her and started dancing (which really was him holding up his whiskey and swaying side-to-side) next to her. Damon "accidentally" bumped into her and she turned to look at him. Damon smiled. The woman smiled back.

"Hi," he shouted over the music. The girl carried on dancing but moved a little closer. Her eyes were even brighter close up.

"Do you often accidentally-on-purpose bump into people?" She asked with a smile. Damon laughed and noted she had a charming British accent, which made him want her even more.

"OK, you got me there," he admitted. "I needed an excuse to buy you a drink." He flashed another winning smile and she bit her lip provocatively. With a flutter of eyelashes over azure blue eyes she acquiesced.

Over at the bar the girl ordered a cocktail and Damon refreshed his whiskey. He knew she was up for it so it was just a case of playing the game until its conclusion. He was a hunter, after all.

"I'm Damon, by the way."

"Serena," she said, "visiting from England. I'm here to try out the whole American experience."

Serena's eyes were full of excitement and flirtation and Damon had to use his 150-years of experience of controlling his vampirism to its fullest. He wanted to kiss her or completely drain her of blood, he wasn't sure which. It was amazing how often those feelings blurred together.

"And what do you imagine the full experience would involve?" He replied. Serena took a sip of her cocktail through red-painted lips and shuddered from the alcohol hit. She cast her eyes most determinedly at Damon and fixed him with a look.

"I suppose the term is 'get wasted', then dance all night and see where the night takes me. Do you think you know anyone who can show me this?" She asked not even remotely innocently. Damon laughed.

"Well it's your lucky night, Serena, because the full American experience has just come to town."

xx

Serena was giggling merrily as they walked through the dark streets. Damon had suggested he showed her the next part of the 'experience' back at his place and it was to there they were headed. They had steadily drank and drank and were thoroughly drunk and ready to get wild. Through all the dancing and laughing he found her to be lively and even more beautiful. Now he was about to finish his night with a stunning girl to bang and she probably tasted delicious.

"This way!" Damon called as she went to stagger off into a car park, and as he pulled her by the hand she fell into him. Their eyes met and wouldn't let go. Damon felt his body scream out for some gratification so he pulled her to the nearest alley and kissed her. In a second she was kissing back and pushing into him heavily, her lithe frame against his.

Damon felt his body tighten and burn. The passion had made him hungry for blood and before he could reason with himself to hold off exsanguinating her, his face darkened and his sharp teeth protruded. He aimed for the jugular and opened his jaws.

Serena gasped- and then threw his entire body into the brick wall opposite. The force of his body being catapulted at 50 miles per hour against a wall caused a huge chunk of bricks to smash like they were bits of cake. Once the inital shock was over and the broken bones had snapped back into place he gaped at her, hands crossed over her chest and head cocked to one side.

"Seriously? I came here for a night off and now the first hot bloke I meet is a vampire too? Is that what you do, party with girls in clubs and drain 'em?" Serena looked annoyed. Damon extricated himself from the wall and edged towards her. She had her eyebrow raised cynically.

"You… you're..?" He began in confusion. Serena gave a sigh of impatience.

"Well obviously. You think any random girl could throw you like that?"

"You caught me off-guard," Damon defended. Serena laughed.

"The chances are that I'm much stronger than you, too. How old are you, Damon?" Serena asked. Damon stared at her, not entirely sure he how went from a guaranteed shag to being thrown into a wall by this stunningly beautiful vampire.

"Over one hundred and fifty. You?"

Serena's face broke into a grin, all trace of annoyance dissipated immediately.

"Oh, Damon… I'm five hundred!"

Damon stared at her. He'd never even heard of any existing vampires that age, let alone been stood next to one. He was confused and his ego hurt. She smiled again, her dazzling blue eyes and porcelain skin still not giving away any hint of her age.

"But I came out with you because I wanted to bang you. I'm still game if you are," she proffered. Damon ran a hand through his hair and stared at her, but it only took a moment for him to be drawn in by the promise of that body riding him. He gave that winning smile and approached her with lightning speed.

"Well now I can show you the TRUE American experience."


	2. Chapter 2

THE HOT coffee was brewing, the grounds gently infusing with the boiling water to produce one of Earth's most used commodities. Damon was cheerfully whistling 'I Got A Woman' as he waited and thought about last night. That had to be pretty much the best sex he'd ever had. Having a vampire being able to match his strength really pushed it out longer and made it intense, passionate and totally hot. Clearly, 500 years of afterlife had taught her many things. Even Damon who considered himself an experienced lover had had his mind blown.

"You're in a good mood," came a voice from behind him. Damon looked around to see his brother Stefan wearing a smirk. Behind him was his girlfriend Elena who had evidently stayed the night, given as she was wearing Stefan's t-shirt and dressing gown, along with dishevelled hair.

"Well I am, why do you always seem shocked when I'm happy?" Damon replied.

"Because usually when you're happy it's for a selfish and sinister reason," Stefan answered. Their relationship hadn't been good for over a century and he had no reason to believe things would be any different. Damon pulled a face.

"Okay maybe I deserved that," he admitted, "but today I'm happy because I've had one of the best nights of my life."

"Yeah, we heard loud and clear," Elena teased. She looked at Damon with amusement. Damon was thoroughly unabashed. He shrugged and turned his attention to the percolating coffee.

"So who is she?" Stefan asked wearily. Then his face became severe. "Is she dead?"

"Seriously, Stef, I'm upset that you think it's all I do," Damon replied without sounding remotely upset. "No I didn't kill her, or bite her or anything… although technically she isn't actually alive…"

Stefan and Elena shared worried looks, especially given Damon's mischievous look.

"Morning!" Came Serena's cheery voice from the doorway. Damon broke into a wide smile as she approached wearing last night's tight blue dress. Her white blond hair was crumpled in a most adorable way. She smiled at him and noticed the other people stood looking at her. She strode forward and offered her hand.

"Hello, I'm Serena, nice to meet you!" She beamed. Stefan and Elena introduced themselves with confused politeness.

"Coffee, Serena?" Damon offered. Serena tutted comically.

"Damon, my dear, I'm English, it's tea or nothing."

He laughed softly and reached for the kettle. Serena stood by the counter and looked innocently at everyone. Her make-up seemed perfectly intact and she tied her hair up with an elastic from her wrist. Stefan and Elena looked at each other again, not sure how to progress in this conversation.

"So, what brings you here? A holiday?" Elena asked eventually.

"Oh, she's looking for an American dream," Damon chipped in, handing her a cup of tea. Serena rolled her eyes.

"Don't listen to him," she joked. "I've not been to America for a long time, just catching up with friends. Anyway, I kind of got side tracked last night-" Damon sniggered, "-but I'm spending a bit of time here. America, that is, not this kitchen."

"Come on, Serena, what's a bit of time to you? We can go back upstairs and carry on where we left off!" Damon ran a hand through his dark hair. She laughed softly. Stefan looked confused.

"Would you mind explaining a bit about yourself to my slow-witted brother here? He hasn't quite caught on yet."

"Certainly. Well, let me see… I'm also a vampire, quite an old one, and last night I threw Damon into a wall because he thought I was human and tried to bite me."

Stefan actually burst out laughing wildly and Serena snorted into her tea.

"Can't blame a guy for trying," Damon sighed.

"I wish I could've seen that," Stefan admitted after the laughing subsided.

"Thanks for the brotherly concern."

"So, how old are you? If that's not a rude question," Elena added, hazel eyes full of curiousity.

"Not at all. I'm five hundred. Goodness, that makes me sound so old!" Serena considered. Stefan and Elena stared.

"She's a cougar, I was completely seduced!" Damon said gleefully and Serena punched him in the arm.

"I've never met anybody of that age before," Stefan said with awe, "I can't believe you've survived this long."

"Indeed it was hard. Basically from the seventeenth century up to the nineteenth it was an extremely difficult few hundred years. People were much more suspicious and the class system made it… awkward. But the last century or so I've really enjoyed myself." Serena smiled her dazzling smile and took a sip of tea, but Elena saw a flicker of sadness behind her eyes. Clearly those difficult centuries were still painful.

"So your friends here," Elena piped up, sensing this to be a sensitive topic, "are they American or English?"

Serena turned her azure blue eyes towards her and gave the faintest of grateful smiles. "They were English a long time ago. Now they're just normal Americans. Last time I was out here was the 1920s. I met F. Scott Fitzgerald once at a wild party..."

Elena's eyes boggled. "You've got to be kidding."

"What do you think Gatsby's parties were based on?" Serena beamed broadly. "Oh, and I went by the name Daisy back then. I'm not saying he was inspired by me but I like to think it's a bit too coincidental!"

"Oh my God that's awesome!" Elena enthused.

"Yes it's all fascinating," Damon said sarcastically, "but really Serena and I need to return upstairs promptly." He grinned wickedly at her and gestured upstairs.

"Actually I'd better get changed, doing the walk of shame at my age is just plain sad."

"But it's daytime, you can't-" Elena began to exclaim but Stefan put his hand on her arm to silence her. Serena glanced at Stefan's hand and back at Damon's.

"You two clearly can and as such I don't mind saying it to you- I've got a magical mystery sunshine ring, too." She held up her left hand and on her ring finger she had an ornate silver ring; a small, gothic pattern surrounding a blue sapphire. She admired it herself for a moment. "I don't like telling everyone because plenty of people have tried to take it from me. But you guys also have rings so it's ok."

"That ring," Stefan said slowly, staring at it, "it's ancient. Did you have that when you were turned?"

For a moment, Serena caught her breath. She touched the ring gently for a moment then snapped back to her smile. Elena looked at her curiously.

"Not quite. Anyway, I'd best be off. Thanks for the tea. Lovely to meet you all." She smiled politely and turned to retrieve her things from the bedroom. Damon pulled a face of annoyance at Stefan.

"Well great, you've gone and asked questions and pissed her off. Thanks," he muttered and rushed after her. Stefan and Elena looked at each other strangely.

"You seemed to have touched a raw nerve there," Elena said quietly. "Why do you think she acted so weird when you asked about the ring?"

Stefan shrugged and pulled her in for a hug. "I don't know, but I think there's more to it."


	3. Chapter 3

ELENA and Stefan were sat on the sofa finishing their drinks and talking. They were in the height of love still and enjoyed all the simple things they did together. For Stefan it was a new lease of life to be with someone living and full of character. Damon came marching into the living room.

"Well luckily my engaging charisma has managed to persuade Serena to come back later for dinner-" he glanced at Elena, who had raised her eyebrows at his notion of dinner, "-so by that time I don't want to see either of you."

"Why, what did we do?" Elena asked.

"Hmm," he repsonded with mock confusion, "all I know is that she was happy with me and then you started talking to her and she left. Here's a tip: don't go grilling vampires you've just met about their past. Not a polite conversation starter."

Stefan shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Listen, she's incredibly old and obviously has a lot of complicated history. Just… just be careful, Damon, don't step on anyone's toes."

"Oh please," Damom scoffed, waving Stefan's portents away dismissively, "she can destroy me in a second if she wanted to. God, I went to bite her last night and she threw me into a wall in less than a second. I think I'd be more worried if SHE was pissed at me."

"All the same… just be careful."

Damon approached Stefan and casually ruffled his hair. "While your concern is touching, I think I'll be fine." And with that he shot off out the door. Elena glanced at her boyfriend.

"Do you think that there's an issue with Serena?" She asked.

"I might have to do some research. Someone that old could have a dangerous past," he explained. "But it's that ring, there's something about it…"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know exactly. It's the design… I'm sure I've seen it somewhere before…" Stefan frowned thoughtfully, clearly wracking his memory for something long buried.

"What does it matter, though? Damon makes his own choices and they're usually not good ones," Elena pointed out.

"No," Stefan agreed, "but now that Serena's been invited in you can never be too careful."

At seven o'clock that same evening Serena reappeared at the Salvatore boarding house, only this time not intoxicated nor indeed in revealing clothing. This time she was dressed in an orange dress with dark tights and mid-heeled boots. Her white blond hair was tied up in a messy ponytail and her simple make-up emphasised her natural porcelain complexion. Around her neck she wore a beautiful silver necklace, bearing some form of amber jewel inside a circular silver cage. And, as always, her eyes sparkled bright and she wore her ring. Damon let out a low whistle as he opened the door.

"Wow, I never thought a woman could look hotter with her clothes on, but here you are!" He enthused. She smirked.

"A bit of a backwards compliment but I get your sentiment. What's your plan?"

From the look on Damon's face it was obvious what his plan was. Serena rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Okay, fine, maybe not that. But you gotta admit, last night was fun," he said with a grin. Serena cocked her head to one side.

"Aren't you an overconfident little sod?"

"Nah, just very secure. But what I thought was we go downtown for a few drinks in the bar and head out for food. 'Apparently' I'm not allowed to eat around here so we may need to head out of town," Damon said witheringly.

"Fine by me. Oh," she said as they headed out of the door, "don't think by taking me to a bar that you're guaranteed a shag tonight."

Damon laughed softly and raised an eyebrow.

"The thought never entered my mind."

xx

Damon very quickly became aware that several other people had the same ideas about Serena as he did. As they walked into The Mystic Grill for a few pre-dinner drinks, the eyes of many men followed her in. She seemed either indifferent to, or unaware, of the attention she drew. Not that he was jealous at all, rather he was proud of the fact he was the most attractive man in the room and that he was sat with clearly the most attractive woman there. They ordered drinks and sank into a booth.

"So how come it's taken you eighty years to come back to America? What's England got going on that we don't?"

"I've just been preoccupied, really," Serena admitted. "Plus, time seems to have flown by since the War."

"Oh yeah, those were crazy times," Damon reminisced.

"Definitely. But anyway," she said briskly, changing the tone completely, "do you know many others like us? Surely a century and a half has left you well-connected?"

Damon smiled his ever-charming smile but inwardly wondered why she changed subjects so drastically. Completely unbidden, Stefan's words came floating into his mind: "She's incredibly old and obviously has a lot of complicated history. Just… just be careful, Damon, don't step on anyone's toes." Damon dismissed this platitude but couldn't help but feel that somehow it fitted the situation.

"Yeah I guess. I started off in Mystic Falls but I only come back occasionally. The people in this town are too suspicious by far," he chortled. "Yeah, I've travelled all over. I only know a few British ones, though, if you're asking."

Serena's eyes seemed to sharpen at this but she did a good job of disguising it. She mindlessly fiddled with her necklace as she glanced around the bar.

"Oh right, who are they? I might know them. It's so terribly hard to keep up with your acquaintances, don't you think?" She said amiably.

"I guess. The British people I know are Emma Knight; Maisy… Maisy Something, I forget now; Anya Brady, no- Anya Fairless? I think. Or is it Anna?" Damon pondered.

"I'm seeing a pattern, here. I take it when you say you know them, you mean you've slept with them a few times and you think they had a British accent?" Serena proposed logically. Damon paused, mouth open ready to protest, but then nodded lamely.

"I know a few guys, too, but only vaguely."

"Well out of a group such as ours it's likely you'll know at least one of them. I know Emma Knight, she's such a slag…" Serena began, clearly about to begin a vicious string of vitriol about Emma Knight, before Damon raised his eyebrows.

"Okay, I won't comment on her," Serena acquiesced. "Anyone else?"

Damon scratched his head thoughtfully. "James Kennedy, I think he's a bit of a blood dealer who specialises in international flavours… I once met this guy called Tim in New York but I don't think he lived there."

"Oh right," she responded neutrally, "I might know him. Is he about 30-ish, brown eyes, a little scar over his left eye?"

Damon pulled a face. "God, I don't know! I wasn't studying his face! Maybe he was an older-type guy, I can't remember. I only met him once." Damon shrugged. Serena, who was listening to him intently, seemed to be wearing a glazed look. After a brief moment she seemed to be herself again.

"How long ago was this?" She asked innocently.

"About 5 years ago, I think. Why? -Oh, hold on-" his phone started ringing from within his pocket, "-I'll be right back, just need to take this." Damon jumped up and went outside. Serena furrowed her brow. Tim… could that be him?

So absorbed in thoughts was she that she didn't notice a guy eyeing her up from the bar. He got up and sidled over to Damon's seat. Serena's head snapped up at the not-unattractive young man sat opposite, his confidence clearly bolstered by a new hair cut and several measures of bourbon. He gave a cocky smile.

"I notice your drink's empty," he drawled, "can I get you one?"

"No, thank you," she replied wearily. His face brightened.

"Oh my God, you're British! Hey, do you know the Queen?" He said, clearly thinking he was hilarious and not at all the first person to ask that. Serena rolled her eyes.

"Look, mate, you've done a brave thing coming up and asking me," Serena explained patiently, "but the answer is no, and my date'll be back in a minute so please leave." She wasn't unkind but quite clearly firm. The man seemed to take this as an encouragement, however.

"You're obviously used to getting hit on a lot so I'll make it easy, I'll buy you a drink and when your date comes back, make an excuse and meet me later," he said ostentatiously. He stood up to leave to carry out his plan (with a smirk) when Serena put a hand on his arm and fixed him with a look. He seemed fixed to the spot; his body made of lead weights which he couldn't move under her gaze. She looked directly into his eyes and the irises seemed to burn with a blue flame. Then a second later she released the man's arm.

He wore a look of shock on his face. He stared at Serena as though seeing her for the first time. He started backing away.

"I'm… I'm sorry…" he waffled, then disappeared quickly out of the doors. She awarded herself a little satisfied smile. There were certainly advantages of being undead for so long, you did learn some cool tricks.

"Looks like you've been having fun," Damon said from beside her. She smiled broadly.

"You saw that, then?"

Damon grinned at her, his attractive face displaying pride and amusement. "I did. Mental Compulsion?"

"Sort of," she said, none-too-modestly. Then she stopped and glanced at Damon, a mischievous look on her face. "Damon, I'm feeling a little… wild."

His eyes opened with interest. He couldn't resist it when Serena clearly had naughtiness in mind.

"How about we make a night of it? I really fancy New York."

xx


	4. Chapter 4

"HEY, I haven't seen Damon around today, where's he gone?" Elena asked Stefan. It was dinner time the next day and they were preparing dinner at Elena's house. Her Aunt Jenna was working late and brother Jeremy was locked in his bedroom.

"I don't know, he went out last night with Serena and hasn't come back yet," he answered. Elena looked at him strangely.

"Are you worried?"

"I don't know," Stefan answered. "Part of me is concerned but like you said yesterday, he makes his own choices."

"Did you research Serena at all?" Elena said, stirring the pasta sauce bubbling away in the saucepan.

"I had a quick look in some books I have, but she said before that she goes by different names so I couldn't find anything. I'm more interested in that ring." Stefan ran a hand through his hair absent-mindedly. He joined Elena at the worktop and drained the pasta.

"The style is gothic, very mediaeval, but if Serena is five hundred years old that's only the 1600s. That ring is years older than her," Stefan explained thoughtfully. Elena looked confused.

"So how did she get it?"

Stefan sighed. "I guess from whoever turned her, which makes me think it was a man."

"Is that relevant?" Said Elena. Stefan shrugged.

"I don't know," he answered truthfully. No, he wasn't sure that all this information was in any way pertinent, but he also couldn't shake the feeling that things wouldn't go smoothly foraslong as Serena was around. He was interrupted from his reverie by a knock at the door, which he went to answer as Elena plated up the food. As he opened the door he was greeted by Damon- and Serena.

"Hey, Stef, won't you invite us in?" He smirked.

"Is that Damon?" Elena called from the kitchen.

"Yeah… and Serena," Stefan called back. He heard Elena pause before she came into view. She smiled a falsely bright smile.

"Hey guys," she said chirpily, "what's up?" She glanced from Damon to Serena to Stefan.

"Thought we'd come by to say hello," Damon said, still smirking. "Won't you invite us in?"

"Oh… sure," Elena said, hiding her discomfort.

"Don't feel obliged," Serena said genuinely. "I understand it's a bit weird inviting… people like me into your home, but if it's any consolation I have no intention of coming here unannounced."

Serena seemed so friendly and genuine, and Elena knew she couldn't be using Compulsion on her (she had a pendant given to her from Stefan containing vervain, a herb resistant to vampires). Besides, as she had no reason to turn her away she felt saying no would make her a bitch.

"Serena, would you like to come in?"

xx

During dinner, Serena regaled them with stories of her life. Mostly they involved scandals and quite a few upper-class romps. Her favourite time was the Roaring 20s, but since then she pretty much enjoyed all of the 20th century, asides from the wars. Elena's reservations about her had dissipated as she turned out to be funny, charming, intelligent and just… nice. She was bursting to ask all sorts of questions about pretty much every time period she had lived in but felt all the details she longed to know weren't appropriate to ask yet.

"…so in the end, there was me, Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan smoking weed in the van, trying to stop Keith Richards from jumping out of the window!" Serena recanted gleefully. Damon and Elena burst out laughing and Stefan smiled broadly.

"That's so cool!" Elena squealed, wiping tears from her eyes. She was loving all of these stories.

"Our night in New York seems a little lame after all that!" Damon said. Serena affectionately went to punch him on the arm but ended up breaking it instead. Stefan broke into peals of laughter.

"Oh gosh, Damon, I'm so sorry!" Serena jumped up and fussed over his arm. Stefan was still laughing. "I forget myself sometimes around vampires, I'm sorry!" Damon groaned in pain and snapped his arm back together. He rubbed it tenderly.

"Hey, I'm a delicate flower, be gentle! Whoever turned you has a lot to answer for," Damon said. Serena gave a brief smile. "Come on, then, how did it happen?"

He eyed her questioningly. She azure eyes flashed for a moment.

"There's nothing much to tell, I got bitten, learned the ropes and haven't seen him for centuries," she said simply, not bothering to incite further questions. Elena surreptitiously glanced at Stefan- clearly some part of his theories were true.

"Did you know him when he bit you?" Stefan asked innocently.

"It doesn't really matter. Look, no offense but it was all a long time ago and I've moved on since then. I'm not interested in what happened half a millennium ago," she said flatly. Her eyes seemed to flare up and all of that friendly banter seemed to shrink under a very dark, menacing aura. But as quick as it started she became herself again, all dazzling blue eyes and porcelain skin. Everyone stared.

"I'm… I'm sorry," she stuttered. She was a little shocked herself and obviously saw the need to make reparations for her exceedingly impolite behaviour.

"I don't know what came over me, I was so rude. Elena, this is your home and I acted like an appalling guest, please accept my apology?" She beseeched earnestly. Elena was truthfully quite shaken still but accepted her apology regardless.

"However, I need to get going," Serena said finally. "I'd arranged something with my friends and I'm already late, I suppose that's my fault for staying out in New York last night. Damon, I'll call you. Elena, thank you for allowing me into your home. Stefan, good to see you again."

With that she went for the door. Damon's mouth was still half-open ready to protest but she was already out of the room. Elena rushed to the front door.

"Wait!" She called, and Serena paused with her hand on the door. "Wait, Serena, don't feel like you have to leave, honestly-" Elena touched her arm in a gesture of friendship but as she did so a jolt like electricity shot through her. For a brief second the image of a man flashed in Elena's mind; a man tall and kind and rugged, smiling fondly. Elena gasped and stumbled backwards. Serena looked just as scared as Elena. She went to open her mouth but Serena shook her head, put her finger to her lips and pointed back at the room with the Salvatore brothers. Elena shakily nodded.

Taking out her phone Serena typed out a simple text message which she held up for Elena to read: Please don't pursue this. It is dangerous.

And with that she shot out of the door like a streak of light.

xx


	5. Chapter 5

SHAPELESS, formless images floated through her mind; swirling shapes of blue and white drifted in front of her eyes, joining together to form the face- the benevolent face which seemed so clear now. He was a man in his mid-thirties with a rugged beard and shrewd, brown eyes. Above his left eye was a small scar. He was knowledgeable and hard-working and extremely affectionate in his expression. But he was saying something, he was saying he was dangerous, don't come any closer, keep her away… keep her safe… but who was she to keep safe?

Elena sat bolt upright in bed, a fine sweat across her body. She forced herself to concentrate on the dream to fix it in her mind, but already she felt it slipping away. Quickly, she grabbed her journal from the nightstand and scribbled down every detail she could remember. Although not an artist, she vaguely traced an outline of the man's eyes. After she recorded as much as she could she slumped against the headboard.

She had been thinking about the situation since Serena left, brooding on it, considering what it all meant. Her dream, was it a dream or a message? What the man said were not exactly Serena's words. The man said to keep her away and safe. Who did he mean? Elena thought it was obvious it was Serena. But those were not her words, so why was she dreaming it? She had been torn between telling Stefan and respecting Serena's parting request, but now that this issue had invaded her dreams she knew what she had to do.

Elena picked up her phone and called Stefan. In a whisper she asked him to come over, and in about one minute he whisked silently into her bedroom. His face was all concern as she explained what had happened with Serena and showed him her journal page full of scribbles. His brow furrowed as he pieced together all of the information. Eventually he looked at Elena worriedly.

"What bothers me the most is the image you saw when you touched her. Vampires can sometimes project visions into minds but you have the vervain pendant, that shouldn't have happened," he whispered urgently.

"What about the dream? It felt more… focused, like it was directed at me. The wording the man used… it was like he was speaking to me," Elena confessed. Stefan put his hands on her shoulders protectively.

"I don't have an explanation for that, but it could have just been a dream… but Elena, if you see her again please don't touch her. I don't understand how she showed you that memory but we don't want it happening again." Stefan studied her face.

"You think it was a memory?"

"Definitely," he said immediately. "You saw how she reacted when Damon asked about her history. I think the man is very important to her, and that despite what she says she hasn't moved on from her past."

"Or her past won't let her," Elena added thoughtfully. Stefan frowned again.

"I have an idea to find out more, but I'm not sure if it's a good idea," he began slowly. She looked at him curiously. "Damon."

Elena's brown eyes met Stefan's with the same thought in mind: can they trust Damon to act wisely with sensitive information, if he even agreed to help at all?

xx

As soon as Elena finished school later that day she went over to the Salvatore boarding house. She had taken her journal with her to show Damon. Stefan and herself had agreed to ask a few simple questions and not push it too far, as Damon could be volatile at the best of times. She entered the house under the pretext of studying. Damon was already on the whiskey and was merrily throwing eggs as far as he could out of the kitchen window.

"Are you okay, Damon?" Elena asked cautiously. Damon gave a cheery wave at her and tossed her an egg to catch.

"It's fun, have a go!" He said, promptly firing three in rapid succession into the gardens. Elena put her bag on the floor and threw her egg. It was utterly pointless but still sort of fun. Stefan appeared behind her.

"What are you doing, Damon?" Stefan asked with exasperation. Damon took another slug of whiskey.

"What, can't a guy be drunk in the afternoon without a good reason? Elena, my dear, would you kindly explain to my little brother that I am currently hurling eggs out of the window?" He drawled. He laughed a little into his glass.

"Oookay," Stefan said, shaking his head disapprovingly. Elena, however, picked up another egg and threw it out of the window with as much force as she could muster.

"Hey, not bad," he said, impressed. Stefan looked at Elena but she raised her eyebrows, imploring him to play along.

"It is a kinda stress relief," Elena admitted. "Hey Damon, is Serena coming over again today? I wanted to talk to her more about her life, I've never laughed so much!" Another egg throw.

Damon shrugged. "I dunno. She'll call, I guess. I think she's trying to find an old friend."

Stefan and Elena shared a look.

"I thought you guys had fun in New York?" She asked.

"Yeah we did, but she spent half of her time asking all of the other vampires about some guy," he said, with only a tiny splash of bitterness. Damon went to the fridge to get another tray of eggs.

"Some guy? You mean, someone she knows?"

"Yeah," he said, viciously throwing more eggs. "Tim Overdale, brown eyes, scar over his left eye, someone she knew from England years ago."

Elena drew a sharp breath. "Did she find him?" Damon turned to face her impatiently.

"Look, what she does is her business, I don't care. All know is that we have fun when we hang out and she's great at sex. End of." He drained his drink and began looking about for the remainder of the bottle. Elena was not finished yet.

"But aren't you even curious why she's looking for this guy?" She said with growing frustration. Damon pulled a face.

"No."

"Clearly you are," she returned, all pretence at playing it cool now forgotten. "You're drunk at 3pm and trying to murder passing birds with eggs."

"Well I appreciate the irony," he said drily.

"He turned me," said a voice from the doorway. They spun around to see Serena, arms folded, innocent face fixed in a most stony expression. "Timothy Overdale turned me."

"Serena, I… I'm sorry…" Elena stammered. She raised her eyebrow slightly.

"Aside from you completely disregarding my requests, I think the question is, why are you so curious to find out who he is?"

xx


	6. Chapter 6

SERENA'S eyebrow was still arched as she glared stonily at Elena who was ashen and speechless.

"Hi, Serena," Damon piped up from the back. She turned her steel gaze upon him and he flinched slightly and his mouth snapped shut.

"I'm… sorry, I am, I never intended to tell anyone," Elena stammered weakly.

"And yet you did," Serena responded sharply.

"It's my fault," Stefan admitted. "I knew something was bothering her and I made her tell me."

"Oh please!" Serena snapped impatiently. "I know when people are lying. Why did you pursue it? I told you not to."

Elena was afraid to look her directly in the eyes. The friendly sparkle that lived there had been replaced by sharp, metallic weapons. The face that was innocent and serene looked harsh and unfeeling.

"I wasn't going to but I… I had a dream. It was almost like, like the man was trying to tell me something," Elena murmured to her feet. She fully expected a tirade of vitriol to fly at her but instead there was a stunned silence. Elena raised her head.

Serena had turned white as a sheet. She stared disbelievingly at Elena.

"What do you… that's impossible," she whispered. Elena hesitantly crouched down to grab her journal. She showed the page to Serena, who numbly looked down at it. Her eyes widened as she scanned over the page.

"What did he say? What were his exact words?" She demanded, but it wasn't a nasty command, merely an eager one. Elena repeated as much as she could remember. Serena rubbed the back of her neck distractedly. She looked extremely agitated and confused.

"What do you think it means?" Stefan asked after a pause.

"I don't know what ANY of it means," Damon slurred from the back. "I'm just drinking my drink and watching my eggs."

Despite the obviously intense situation going on Serena stared at Damon agog, then a smile tweaked the corners of her mouth. Damon gave a lopsided grin. Eventually Serena sighed heavily and looked around.

"Somehow you guys have got yourselves involved in my life, so I suppose it might help if I explained something. At least we can pool ideas."

xx

Everyone was sat in the lounge, trying to make themselves comfortable in what was likely to be an uncomfortable situation. Damon had been force-fed coffee. Serena took a deep breath and rubbed her face.

"I was born in 1601, and by 1622 I had a husband and kids. They became ill and died. Lord Timothy was a friend of my husband and he helped me after they died. Not long after my family died I became ill with what I now know to be cancer. It got worse and worse until I was too ill to do anything. I was dying. Timothy had nursed me and we were incredibly fond of each other, but it was clear I was dying slowly so we never spoke of courtship.

"As I was almost certainly about to die, Timothy approached me. He said he could cure me- take away my sickness forever- and all I had to promise in return was my hand in marriage when I recovered. Well, of course I had no idea how he'd cure me. But I did love him, underneath my disease, so I agreed."

"That clever bastard!" Damon exclaimed. Elena shushed him.

"He bit me, and very quickly I recovered. He explained that I'd have to stay inside for a while, the whole sunshine thing, but I was just happy to be alive. Although strictly speaking I was dead… Anyway, we got married shortly after. I did love him and I actually embraced my new life. He presented me with my ring, and truthfully I never questioned where it came from. I was very trusting and innocent back then.

"He taught me how to survive as a vampire. He showed me how to feed humanely. In those days we had to move every decade or so, but I came from a rich family and he was a Lord so that wasn't too difficult. You were right about him, Elena- about the way you described him. He was kind and clever and I trusted him beyond all else. We had 40 wonderful years together, and he helped me to heal from the pain of losing my family."

Serena paused to take a long drink of her tea. Forasmuch as she seemed like a fairly easy-going person this high-level emotional trip was draining her of the pleasantness.

"Then it ended. 1666 was the Great Fire of London. We were visiting London when it happened. I had gone to meet a friend. And the next thing I knew I couldn't find him. I spent a full year tracing every possible place he could have been. I thought he'd trapped, or put in prison if someone saw him doing something vampirey. In the end I had to face the reality of it- he'd burned to death."

Serena shook her head sadly, still feeling the pain of that realisation.

"If you thought that, why are you looking for him now?" Elena asked. She too was full of emotion after hearing her past and felt a wave of sympathy for her.

"Ah, this is where it gets complicated. Timothy told me he had a friend with powers. I suppose it was a witch, he never said. There was a way to create a bond between us which would make us stronger. It was tricky but the main thing was to take earth from the home I was born in. It was mixed with a few drops of my blood and Timothy's blood, and this friend performed a spell. It was transformed into this." She held up the necklace she wore at all times, the amber jewel inside a round cage. They stared at it curiously.

"What does it do, then?" Damon asked bluntly.

"It makes us stronger vampires. It intensifies our abilities when we're together. After the Great Fire I never felt its effects but I also never wanted to let it go. Lately, however…" Serena broke off and looked down at her necklace. She rolled it between her finger and thumb fondly for a moment.

"Lately my abilities have been… random, shall we say? Like yesterday, I didn't mean to break Damon's arm but it just happened. Sometimes I'll Compel someone without meaning to and they'll wander off doing my shopping, or if I'm thinking really hard about something it pops into someone else's head-"

"-That must be what happened with me!" Elena exclaimed.

"That's entirely plausible," Stefan agreed. "Excuse me, but you were quite fired up last night, so when Elena touched you your memory of Timothy popped into her head."

"Yeah, that sounds right. So naturally with all of these things happening now after 450 years it's making me think. The pendant only made a difference around Timothy, so what's going on to affect me? He must be alive, he must be. Maybe he's hurt or dying or something, but he has to be alive. I have to find him."

xx


End file.
